Rohingya Muslims demand release from holding centre in Kathua, clash with police

Over 200 Rohingyas from Myanmar, who have been held at a “holding centre” in Jammu for more than two years, staged a protest and clashed with guards inside the Hiranagar sub-jail today, demanding their release, according to official sources.

However, a senior police officer dismissed the protest as “routine,” stating that the Rohingyas have been demonstrating for the past month to seek their release from the centre.

A total of 271 Rohingyas, including 74 women and 70 children, are currently housed at the sub-jail, which was designated as a “holding centre” on March 5, 2021, for detaining illegal immigrants.

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The protest within the holding centre erupted when a woman fell ill in the morning, according to an official statement.

“Senior police and jail officials promptly responded to the situation, and it is now under control,” the official added.

Mild force

Sources reported that the police used mild force to disperse the protesters who had approached the main gate of the facility.

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In May, the Rohingyas initiated an indefinite hunger strike to protest their confinement at the centre. However, they called off their protest after senior police and jail officials reassured them that the matter had been raised with the central authorities and that they would be released or deported to their country of origin as soon as orders were received.

During a special verification drive, it was discovered that most of the detained foreigners were residing illegally in Jammu.

The Rohingyas, who are a Muslim minority speaking the Bengali dialect, faced persecution in Myanmar, leading many of them to enter India illegally through Bangladesh and seek refuge in Jammu and other parts of the country.

Several political parties and social organizations in Jammu have been urging the central government to deport the Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, claiming that their presence is an attempt to alter the region’s demographic makeup and poses a threat to peace.

According to government data, over 13,700 foreigners, including Rohingya Muslims and Bangladeshi nationals, have settled in Jammu and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Between 2008 and 2016, their population increased by over 6,000.

With agency inputs